We’ve all been there, right? In love, wanting to memorialize that special moment in some way. Some opt for a photo, some for a (most likely ill-advised) tattoo, some want to just leave their mark at a special place. High School Musical alum Vanessa Hudgens should have opted for a tat or photo, as her impulsively romantic gesture has landed her in hot water.
Vanessa recently spent a romantic holiday with beau Austin Butler in the Sedona, Arizona desert. And, as many young lovers are apt to do, wanted to create a lasting reminder of this romantic rendezvous to revisit for years to come. Unfortunately, the couple decided to celebrate their love by carving their names into one of the area’s federally protected red rock formations. The couple might have gotten away with their antics if Vanessa hadn’t chosen to post the photo of their handiwork on her Instagram page. The photo of the carving, a crudely drawn heart with the inscription “Austin + Vanessa” has since been deleted from Vanessa’s page, but she did leave up a photo of her and Austin canoodling in the desert with the caption #sedonadreams.
#ICYMI: @VanessaHudgens iunder fire for a picture posted, deleted on her #Instagram account https://t.co/vJsWqxPI0W pic.twitter.com/VjIVBftL7Q
— Brent Corrado (@BrentCorrado) February 17, 2016
The photo of the carving attracted the attention of authorities at the Coconino National Forest, where the rock currently resides. Vanessa and Austin’s actions violated a federal law prohibiting anyone from “damaging natural surfaces or property of the United States.” A spokesman for Coconino, Brady Smith, told Us Weekly that “This incident is currently under investigation, so there is not much I can share specifically since I am not privy to the details of an investigation until it is complete. However, I can say that the issue of people carving their names and other things in rocks in the Sedona and surrounding area is always a challenge we face, and try to inform people about its destructive nature. We have found that when one person carves something, it encourages others to carve.”
The couple could face a fine of up to $5,000 or six months behind bars for their actions. I don’t think Vanessa is going to have to channel her inner Rizzo from Grease Live and stick it out in women’s prison, but I do think she’ll be writing a check to the Coconino National Forest. Deservedly so. There’s no reason to deface our country’s beautiful natural resources for a relationship that hasn’t (yet) involved a ring or a name change. Why not stick to pics and/or ink?
photo credit: WENN and Getty
FREAKING IDIOT! Can you tell I’m offended? The natural world does not exist so this know-nothing can deface it.
Absolutely!!…It only goes to show unfortunately how ignorant many actors are..more like children in adult bodies!!
Incredibly disrespectful.
IDIOTS!!! I wish they would get the maximum sentence and go to jail. I mean it. Of all the shallow, self-centered, vain, stupid acts – you REALLY go to one of the few unspoiled places left on the planet and carve your initials? Bring back the stocks and I’ll throw a rotten tomato in her stupid face.
No kidding. Carve your names into a picnic table at the campground like everyone else if you MUST make such a high school gesture.
I just don’t understand how people can look at magnificent feats of nature, and think “it’d look even better if I wrote all over it!” Such a selfish and stupid thing to do.
If the relationship crashes and burns, a photo can be deleted/torn up. Carving that into a rock (or getting a tattoo) will be a constant reminder. Can you imagine if Vanessa and Austin get into a beef on social media? The amount of people that would repost that photo just to be a troll would be insane.
Stonehenge got ruined for visitors because people insisted on doing ignorant shiznit like this. What a pair of arses.
Sorry but this is so insulting. Celebs think they have a right to do whatever and this was just beyond stupid. I hope they slap them with a fine and maybe some community service for the park.
Not just celebs, the boy scout master and his drunk buddy who were knocking over sacred and ancient rocks for laughs still burns me up.
Me too. And the jackwad Alabama fan who poisoned the famous trees in Auburn makes me sick. I can only hope that one day Ariana Grande will spit all over their Krispee Kremes.
if its not their culture people feel like they can disrespect it or co-opt it. So infuriating
It’s a National Forest, not a park, but performing some sort of volunteer work there would go a long way to bettering their reputation–and hopefully, their consciousness.
I haven’t been to a major national park but were there signs? I wouldn’t have thought anything of it since carving into treas and rocks isn’t unusual. Based on the response from the park. they are going to go after Vanessa. She’s too high profile for a slap on the wrist.
Do you have signs at your house for visitors to not carve stuff into your furniture or doors? Does there have to be a sign for everything or could people just use common sense, like “you don’t live there and it’s not yours so leave it alone”?!
Exactly. Trying having a functioning brain. This makes me so angry.
Well houses are considered individual private property, while trees and rocks are things just out in nature and carving dumb little things like that out in the wilderness is seen as a sort of normal thing. I wouldn’t have done something so sappy and immature, but I also never would have thought it was illegal to do that.
I can’t believe you said that.
Otaku fairy, exactly, I can see some that some would think ok to carve on nature when people do that all the time already. I would never do that but unless it has been banned by sings it would be strange if it was illegal. I am completely certain there were sings to ban this. Carving on made things, especially for historically important things like Stonehenge however is heinous and incredibly idiotic, sings or no signs.
“while trees and rocks are things just out in nature”
These weren’t just out in nature, they were in a National Park. I am sure there were signs.
Been to those locations in Sedona. Not only do you run smack into the sign as you are paying to enter the park, but it is posted again where you park, and AGAIN on the hiking trail. You cannot disturb the natural surroundings, you can’t leave anything, or take anything (wildflowers, sticks,etc.) .
Ok, then that IS different. It’s one thing to do something stupid not knowing that it’s considered a problem. But willfully ignoring signs telling people not to do it is another.
I’ve been to several national parks (including ones in the Southwest) and all have had a variation of “Take nothing but memories and leave nothing but footprints.” There’s no excuse for this vandalism.
Any time you go into a national park, there are signs, and you’re usually given a pamphlet, too.
But I have another question. I’ve never been west of the Mississippi. Are the rocks in Sedona a soft stone? Where I live, it’s limestone. Everywhere. Under everything. So hard, it’s costs oodles of money to excavate for anything. So for me, it’s hard to imagine being able to “carve” into a rock.
Not sure about Sedona, but other SW places have a lot of sandstone!
Sedona’s red rocks are primarily sandstone.
It’s a National Forest, not a park (I used to work for the Forest Service & it drives us crazy when people get this wrong). And although I have not been to this particular Forest, this red rock area is likely some sort of specially designated natural area, which increases the protection level. It may also be important to affiliated Tribes, although the wording of the offense leads me to think it is not, thank goodness, a petroglyph panel.
Every so often my distaste or indifference for a celeb drops a little if they seem to accomplish something positive (Grease performance after her Father died) and then just as quickly will rise all over again when they screw it up.
Well Vanessa, your name is mud in my book again. Idiot.
She’s never struck me as particularly bright but this is ridiculous. Common sense, you know?
I don’t even get what would compel a grown-ass woman to do something so idiotic.
“as many young lovers are apt to do.” except she’s really NOT that young. she’s 27, which is young in the grand scheme of life, but is still old enough to know better. vanessa is not some high school kid in the throes of a first love. she’s a grown woman, and austin is a grown man. i hope they BOTH get fined.
Yeah that’s a teenager thing (although me as a teenager would never have done that because I was taught that vandalism of any kind is very wrong)
This is undeniably a bad, thoughtless and self involved choice.
However I can give her a pass (once she’s paid a big fee to the park) and let this be a learning experience. She’ll never do anything like this again, and if she has kids she will surely tell them not to as well.
Maybe I have a soft spot for this mistake because my dad was always carving our names into trees, to some people it’s not that outrageous. A mistake like this isn’t that hard for me to understand. She’s always seemed like a nice person. Just let her make amends, learn her lesson and move on.
I think she would have been smart right when this came out to make a huge apology and a really generous donation. She should have said she realizes her mistake and would like to raise awareness so people don’t do what she did. Just deleting the picture and acting like it never happened is obviously not the way to go.
FRANNY, you had an interesting take on this. I HATE it when people disrespect our county and national parks, and she should have known better. But if you do a bonehead thing like she did, you are right; she could have been much more publicly apologetic.
I don’t understand all the anger? It’s sad that landmarks are messed up, but it seems like everything is carved into or marked up these days. And if there were already carvings there, they probably didn’t think twice about doing it because they assumed it was okay.
Great attitude. Maybe we should just spray paint all of nature because it seems like there’s a lot of graffiti. Maybe we should just pave over any green spaces because it seems like there are a lot of parking lots. Let’s not think about our children’s future or the future of the earth or saving what precious little natural beauty we have left. Who cares?
Omg, you are exhausting
That’s your takeaway from this?
GNAT, honestly, if they don’t get why this is such a big deal, they never will. You either see the bigger picture and care, or you don’t. It’s going to be a huge issue moving forward with humanity. Do we care enough, or are we literally going to extinguish ourselves out of selfishness?
Thank you, Tessa. It’s sad to me that people don’t understand why this matters and then attack people who do. But you’re right, I’m just wasting my time.
I love you GNAT!
Thank you, Belle Epoch. Love you back!
Maybe in your neighborhood they are, but not in our National Parks. This is not tagging some building that can be painted over, it’s a rock that will bear that mark for 100’s of years. There are places out West that still show the marks from where Native Americans set up camp 150+ years ago.
They tell visitors to not even remove items, like a small stone or fallen pine cone, and definitely not to deface anything. The parks are there for everyone’s enjoyment, not to serve as some thoughtless idiot’s canvas.
I was in the Sedona Red Rocks State Park early last fall, and it is truly a spectacular, wild, colorful place. Her decision to do this shows lack of respect of maturity. People go there and have near religious experiences, and for her to “leave her mark” so to speak is disgraceful. She needs to apologize, pay up, and then try to work with awesome rangers and park officials there to see if there is a way to clean it up. And while she is washing her mark off the rock, maybe she can wash that awful smirk off her face.
We must always remember that 99% of actors are all stupid. The smart ones are the exception, e.g. Geena Davis,.
Hudgens belongs in the stupid camp.
This soppy and pathetic declaration is nothing but vandalism.
I’m not taking up for her or her boyfriend. The whole idea of “grand”proclamations of love make me giggle but they have been around forever. Poor judgement? Definitely! Punishment is needed and needs to be publized so other youngsters take note. I am all about preservation it is necessary but they made a stupid mistake and with the attention they can make a teaching moment for kids. Again I’m not giving them a pass I just don’t feel they are quite the villains they are being made out to be.
People do realize her boyfriend was there too…right?
It’s because of people like them that we have almost nothing left. Because of a total lack of respect for nature, not to mention stupidity and selfishness. I hope they go to jail.
At this point I am asking myself if you are the real GNAT or just a troll.
Obviously it was stupid…. but jail?
Jail is part of the sentence for a reason.
Celebrities. SMH. They all seem to believe they’re demigods.
Anytime I see a landmark or something like this defaced by idiots, it breaks my heart a little. It’s just so selfish and thoughtless. I hope they have to pay the maximum, and they should publicly apologize.
I’ve always thought she was an idiot, this just confirms it again.
There is some deep ingrained need in human beings to leave their mark on rocks. It has been going on since we lived in caves and drew and carved on the walls. The pioneers carved their initials on rocks as they passed through on their way to California. Members of the Donner party carved their initials on rocks. It is an interesting phenomenon, to be sure. But we need to curb this urge if we want to leave our beautiful parks in their natural state.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ancient+rock+carvings&espv=2&biw=1536&bih=703&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi89eLSsYHLAhUG6SYKHU8qCMIQ7AkIKA
ok. vanessa is 1 year older than me and i’m just?? anyone over the age of 16 who does stuff like this baffles me.
Thank you.
Agreed!!!!!
Argghhh. This stuff bugs me so much. Why does anyone think we want to see their chicken scratches on anything, let alone a protected area?
Excuse the pun, but she wasn’t born under a rock. She knew it was illegal, and she did it anyway, and then she posted it on social media like an entitled dip-shit. Entitled destructive brat is all I can come away with here. She doesn’t care that she’s defaced a piece of treasured property. If she did, she wouldn’t have done it in the first place. I walk gingerly and tread lightly in National Parks. I can’t even imagine the ego one must have to leave a permanent mark like that and think it’s cute.
Career fail. The signs areobviou s. She gets no pass from me. The idea of of tread lightly, noted above is taken seriously, even for rented private property.
Even for states, like mine – Rhode Island, the Department of Environmental Management is extremely strict about hiking and camping in state forests. This isn’t your tree in your backyard. The defacement is there forever. It encourages others to do this because it appears to be acceptable. She’ll get off. My view will probably viewed is a wacko environmentalist. I’m not, but I’ve had experience with this as a hiker & with a friend in a 4 wheeling club in the US.
I live in Flagstaff which is right around the corner from Sedona. There is no way they didn’t see the signs. I really hope Coconino county slaps both of them with a large fine
Don’t think she should be tarred and feathered but I’m all in favour of a hefty fine. She ought to have known better. Why she or he thought it was a good idea in the first place is beyond me.
Sedona is one of the many places I’d like to visit before I die. I find desert landscapes so beautiful. It’s almost like another world sometimes and it just gives me a feeling of both awe and peace.
Make an example of them. Let her pick up Litter as community service for a few days. That would be a good way to pay back for the wrong I think.
She’s 27 years old! I knew this stuff was wrong when I was SEVEN. I give no pass to people who pull this kind of crap, it utterly disgusts me. She and her boyfriend are nothing but selfish, stupid brats.
I wonder if 90% of the regulars that post on this site can see the little people around them from their pedestals of perfection, politically correctness, failure to see any view that differs from their own, and/or soapbox. Apparently, there is only one opinion or point of view and that is the CORRECT one from their standpoint. Must be nice to be so “perfect” all of the time.
Obeying clearly stated laws and refraining from defacing a National Forest — hardly being “perfect”, IMO.
People, people, people, it’s the Coconino National Forest, it is NOT a National Park. There’s no entry fee to Forests, although you may, at some, pay a fee at campgrounds. Anyhoo, a whole host of environmental laws apply to National Forests, as well as National Parks, but the biggest difference between the two is that the Forest Service had a multi-use mission (logging, recreation, etcetera.), whereas Parks are more about preservation & conservation. Both agencies adhere to NEPA, the NHPA, the ESA, the Clean Air & Water Act, and so on (am typing on my phone so I’m leaning on the acronyms). The FS, as I mentioned, will delineate certain areas as being of botanical interest, natural areas, wilderness areas, etc., which curtail some of those multi-use activities. So visit your local National Forest, it’s free!